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The electronic version of this document has been prepared at the Fourth
World Conference on Women by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
in collaboration with the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women
Secretariat.
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AS WRITTEN
Statement by Dr Nafis Sadik
Executive Director United Nations Population Fund.
at the Fourth World Conference on Women
Beijing, China 5th September 1995
Madam President, Honorable Delegates
May I first join other speakers in offering our thanks to our most
generous hosts, the Government of the People's Republic of China, for
their excellent hospitality and arrangements for this most important
Conference.
This Conference will be the culmination of a long process of change for
women. Twenty years ago, at the first World Conference for Women, my
predecessor pointed out that equality for women was a development goal
in itself. He also pointed to its close connection with population and
development goals. Last year at the International Conference on
Population and Development, this vision was emphatically endorsed by the
whole community of nations. The ICPD will be remembered as the first
international conference not devoted to women's issues and interests
where they nevertheless were the main focus of attention.
This Conference therefore starts from the understanding that empowerment
and autonomy for women is both a highly important end in itself, and a
necessary step to help stabilize world population growth, to protect the
environment and to eradicate poverty. I hope and trust that this
Conference will also recognize that action towards securing women's
reproductive health and rights is the starting point for empowerment and
autonomy.
We must be clear about this. It is not acceptable for anyone who claims
to support the process in which we are involved to pay lip-service to
the importance of women's varied roles in the family and society, if
they go on to ignore or downplay reproductive health and reproductive
rights. Respect for women and support for their advancement must be
expressed in real terms: the first mark of respect for women is support
for their reproductive rights. Women must be empowered to perform this
role as they see fit. No-one has the right to impose reproductive
decisions on them. It is 20 years since it was enunciated that all
couples and individuals have the basic right to decide freely and
responsibly the number and spacing of their children, and to have the
information and the means to do so. Our generation has the power to make
the right a reality.
The experience of many years has shown that successful action must
engage not only the woman herself, but the community and society in
which she lives. Her health and personal development are crucially
dependent on the quality of the services she is offered, and the choices
available. But they also depend on how she is valued and supported from
earliest childhood, on the attitudes of her parents, her teachers, her
doctors, her religious counselors.
Successful action for reproductive health opposes violence to women in
all its forms. The ICPD was the first international conference squarely
to oppose female genital mutilation, as a violation of basic human,
rights and a major risk to women's health. Any form of coercion is
completely unacceptable, on practical as well as ethical grounds.
Coercion is a violation of human rights. Although it is every country's
sovereign right to determine its own policy, that right does not extend
to coercive practices. The assumptions behind coercion--that women are
inferior, incapable of independent decision-making, not to be trusted--
are also those which undermine sustainable development.
Reproductive rights involve more than the right to reproduce. They
involve support for women in activities other than reproduction: in fact
liberating women from a system of values which insists that reproduction
is their only function. In the past the status of women has been
determined by their capacity to reproduce--and even that limited role is
considered of secondary importance. That is the trap from which women
must be freed.
Freedom to choose improves women's health, education and economic
opportunities. It also helps to secure and stabilize the family. It is a
key to sustainable social and economic development.
The concept of reproductive rights did not spring from one group or one
country. It is neither neo-colonialist nor unethical. It is a universal
concept, which reflects the experience of thousands of women and men in
countries all over the world. Reproductive rights are human rights. ..
Moving to Action
The consensus on reproductive health and reproductive rights was reached
after a long and very public process of discussion, consultation and
negotiation, reflecting many years of experience. It includes the
contributions of all faiths, all political points of view and all
approaches to development. It has a coherent philosophy and a strong
ethical basis. It is a firm foundation for action.
The task before us now is to move the consensus from paper into
practice. We know very well what must be done. We have the necessary
skills and technical resources at our disposal. We must become effective
advocates for women and women's rights: we must be advocates for
equality, not in a confrontational sense, but in the belief that
partnership is the best path to progress. Men and women are not the
same, but they can be equal. We must enlarge and nourish the alliance
among government, non-governmental organizations, international
organizations and the private sector. We must pay special attention to
women's groups, especially those which are just coming into existence,
and ensure that they have support in their work.
We must look for universal support. All the issues with which we are
concerned have been thoroughly discussed, and consensus has been won.
There can be no reason for further debate except on the best means of
implementation. Implementation will be based on the recommendations of
this conference and those which preceded it. We must therefore ensure
that the FWCW Platform of Action is in harmony with these agreements. We
can go forward: but we must resolutely resist any attempts to go back.
We must be courageous in speaking out on the issues that concern us: we
must not bend under the weight of spurious arguments invoking culture or
traditional values. No value worth the name
provide a framework for human well-being. If they are used against us,
we will reject them, and move on. We will not allow ourselves to be
silenced.
This Conference will be a further step in women's progress towards
empowerment and autonomy. The Platform of this Conference will be a call
for firm, resolute and specific action on behalf of women. Let us build
upon it. The last twenty years have been years of discussion and
reconciliation. Our rights as women are now freely acknowledged. Let us
dedicate ourselves now and for the future to the task of transforming
rights into realities.